Weekly Endgame Study (43)
3 November 2007 10:00 AM
Today a slightly different endgame study than normal. Actually, a very nice and difficult one (and so we already add the solution to it). The Study of the Year award for 2006 has been granted by the PCCC (Permanent Commission of Fide for Chess Composition) to the following masterpiece from the special composing tourney held in memory of the British composer C.M. Bent. Yuri Bazlov (born 1947) has been a prominent Russian composer for the last four decades. It is for him the second time in a row to win this award.
“An outstanding and aristocratic example of the familiar maximal selfblock mate, this study has an excellent quiet second move permitting black counterplay. All pieces move into their final position” (David Friedgood and Timothy Whitworth, Judges in the C.M. Bent MT 2006-07).
“Midboard ideal mate with the last piece following four active self-blocks. All units move in the course of the main line of play and the only two captures are of white pieces” (John Roycroft, chairman of the award committee).
I’m not sure about that, but isn’t it a general rule for endgame compositions, that black plays the strongest possible continuation?
In this respect 4. …Rxe4 is a horrible move. Your proposed 4. …Rd7 is far better. The resulting B+N vs. Q endgame is surely impossible to draw, but on the other hand my endgame database evaluates this to “mate in 37″. I really would like to see somebody playing that over the board with the 50-move-rule.
In my opinion, this study begins with 6. Qf6+, leading to a really nice mate. Everything before that combination is not correctly prearranged.